Susquehanna Township School District revises math curricula at elementary and middle schools

"As we implement all of these different series, the depth of knowledge will be greater." - STSD Assistant Superintendent Kim Donahue

Susquehanna Township School District students in third through
eighth grade will approach math in new ways, under curricula adopted July 22
to strengthen comprehension.

At the recommendation of district officials and staff, the
school board extended Everyday Math to all third- through fifth-graders, and
adopted the CPM curriculum for the middle school.

In 2012, the district implemented Everyday Math for
kindergarten through second grade. Everyday Math, from McGraw-Hill Education, aligns with the state's Common Core Standards and promotes math
comprehension by helping children explore alternate paths to solutions and
articulate the reasons behind their conclusions, according to district
officials.

CPM, owned by a teacher consortium, also aligns with Common
Core and the state Keystone test's content, said Pat Raugh, a district math
coach and member of the staff committee that recommends curricula. CPM focuses
on understanding and retention, with "spiraling" to review and test previous
lessons, he said.

At the middle school, the new curriculum is meant to prepare
all 2013-14 sixth graders for algebra I by eighth grade, said Assistant
Superintendent Kim Donahue. Current seventh and eighth graders who need
accelerated math "will be
enrolled in a rigorous, challenging college preparatory math class," she said.

CPM's rigor addresses concerns of Susquehanna Twp. High School
math teachers, who "don't feel students have a deep understanding of math,"
Donahue told the school board.

"They are not deep math thinkers," she said. "The goal isn't
to keep good math students from advancing. As we implement all of these
different series, the depth of knowledge will be greater."

The costs of the two curricula were not immediately
available from district officials. In 2012, the district paid $20,000 for
Everyday Math in kindergarten through second grades. The school board voted
unanimously, with Jesse Rawls absent, for the latest changes.

Bringing Everyday Math to third through fifth grades all at
once, instead of rolling it out as each class advances, avoids sending the
first wave of students into classrooms taught each year by newly trained
teachers, said Donahue.

A presentation on Everyday Math's implementation in 2012-13 noted
student and teacher enthusiasm but lacked supporting data to satisfy board
member Peter Sakol on its value. Everyday Math presents "too many options," he
said.

"If you're solving a math problem, you have to be taught the
way to do it," Sakol said. "When there's too many options, it's confusing."

Everyday Math still teaches "traditional ways of dong math"
but recognizes students' different personalities, learning styles, and
backgrounds, said Donahue.

"There are multiple ways to solve problems if students don't
understand," she said. "This program is not anti-traditional math, and many
students choose traditional math."